Scarlet Loup

The Marauders (2018)

I figured I'd give people a chance to respond before I go to post again - especially Jones

The Marauders (2018)

Tony didn't have to wait long before Raymond and the girl found their way up to the med bay. She was...less exciting than what he had expected. A human. Or, as Ray mentioned, probably human. He waited until Ray had spoken before he began to open his mouth, but a flash of movement caught his eye, and he turned quickly to see the girl flip him off.

"Seems you've done my job for me," he replied, hardly bothering to stifle the grin that spread across his face. He pushed off of the wall slowly and crossed the room towards the girl. The snarl from the doorway alerted him suddenly, and he glanced over at Rae.

"Doctor." He acknowledged her with a matter-of-fact nod and a playful smile, stopping in the middle of the room with his arms crossed over his chest. Tony heard her out as well, figuring he ought to gather as much information as possible before continuing. "Telepathy's cool. Definitely not common among humans though, so how would she have figured out how to do that?" His attention turned back to the girl. Her gaze seemed to bore holes into him, and he couldn't help but feel ever so slightly unnerved by the sheer mystery surrounding her. Damn it, he was too tired for this bullshit.

"You're definitely fluent...you just won't speak, huh?" He met her eyes as he came to a stop a few feet from her. His brow knotted slightly as she gestured over her chest. Perhaps she physically couldn't? Rae mentioned damage to her vocal cords, but he wondered when that could have happened.

"Oh, shit," he said softly, a slow realization dawning over him. "Do you...you can sign, can't you?" He slowly rose his right hand to his forehead, making a sign similar to the crest of a rooster. With a quick movement, he flicked his wrist and drew his hand perpendicular to the ground. Hello.

"I haven't signed in quite some time," he admitted, slowly signing along with his words as the muscle memory came back to him. "Can you tell me your name? Where you're from?" He continued to sign as he spoke, mostly for his own ego at this point.

The Marauders (2018)

Hi sorry! I am a-okay I just have had so much studying to do. I have four exams this week including organic chemistry, so I'm kind of losing my mind. I can totally understand if you guys gotta post, but I can have a post up tomorrow night after my exams are done!

The Marauders (2018)

Yeah I’ll hang back for a moment then especially cause I’m already catching up on schoolwork from being under the weather

The Marauders (2018)

He couldn't help but smirk like a fool as he watched Dev's plan unfold. Tony had figured it was a bit of a lost cause at that point, but the demolitions specialist managed to make it work. And he had to admit that the explosion itself was a bit of a spectacle. The shockwave was less than ideal as it nearly threw him from his seat.

Tony peeled himself off of the seat and watched the Ulnar ship as it slowly fell apart before them. It was simultaneously beautiful and unnerving to watch. From this distance, it was impossible to tell what was shrapnel and what was Ulnar. He couldn't even fathom what it would feel like.

Slowly, he stood and ducked out of the turret. Silently - a rarity for Tony - he listened to the crew as they discussed their mystery cargo. A child? Seemed a weird thing to be smuggling. Even weirder to risk life over. He started on his way back to his room, hoping for a moment of reprieve. Nearly wiping out an entire race of aliens definitely wasn't light work, and he still really couldn't shake the image of rat people floating through space.

But he heard his name over the comms and gave a soft sigh. Tony pressed a finger to his comms as he reluctantly changed direction. "Yeah, I'm on my way." He hadn't a clue who the girl was or even what she looked like for that matter. There were a number of species in the known galaxy and certainly even more they didn't know. But the fact that Ray had identified her as, well, her led him to believe she was of some known species.

He slipped into the med bay and pressed up against a cabinet which rattled slightly and sent him hurtling slightly towards the center of the room. And now he would wait.

The Marauders (2018)

Finally settled in at school, and I'm either sick with strep or mono (RIP). I'm thinking it's strep because antibiotics are making me feel better but I'm still super out of it. But I'm still writing and hanging in.

The Marauders (2018)

I’m still lurking about - I got back from the shore, so I haven’t had a chance to post but I’m working on something. I head back to college this Saturday, so things are going to be a little hectic for me for a few days. Hopefully I’ll have my response up soon!

The Marauders (2018)

Tony continued to fire at the ship, swallowing nervously as he hoped someone was on their way to the bridge. He had no gods to pray to, but if he had, he certainly would have mumbled a few blessings. The ship rocked beneath the fire from the Ulnar ship, and Antonius finally managed to string a few colorful curses into a semi-coherent and polylingual statement.

Dev's voice came over the comms soon after, and the linguist couldn't help but smile to himself. "Thank the fucking stars, D-" He started to mumble to himself, but he was cut off by more pounding at the bridge. Slowly, it cut off, and Tony allowed himself to settle back into his seat slightly.

He started to formulate a response to Dev, but Yasaliah came back over his comms, announcing the adjustment. "Ready when you are." Tony responded quickly, adjusting slightly for the change in trajectory. He continued firing throughout the adjustment, figuring that he might as well go out with one hell of a bang. Hell, if he wanted to die by space rats, he would have just stayed in prison. But it was a little too late for that now.

Hearing his name over the comms, he perked up for a moment. "It's a very ugly language, Raymond," he joked, making fine adjustments to the turret. "Very guttural, sounds like mucus stuck in the throat." Still, he never rejected an opportunity to brag or show off his skill set. His father had paid too much in sending him to school for that education to go to waste. And so he linked his comms into the ship's loudspeaker system for a few seconds. His insults were quite typical, ranging from colorful, suggestive comments about the mothers of the space rats as well as a few quick jabs at their fighting abilities and collective masculinity. It was almost too easy. The words seemed to come from somewhere deep within his throat, giving them a gross, wet sound that seemed to complement the Ulnar almost perfectly.

Satisfied, he unlinked himself from the system, a self-satisfied smirk plastered to his face. By the time he had finished, Yasaliah's maneuvers had placed them strategically on a path heading towards the ship. "I'm sure the space rats really appreciated the theatrics, Yasaliah," he commented, his voice conveying a benign sarcasm as he upped his rate of firing, sending a barrage of fire at the ship. "I suppose we're giving them more of a show than they planned for."

The Marauders (2018)

Hey y’all - I’m still around! I just haven’t been sure what to post & my job just started up. But I’ve found my muse once more so I’ll probably get something up tonight!

The Marauders (2018)

Antonius had also been unable to sleep, like most of the crew of the Monroe. How was he supposed to sleep with a bunch of butt-ugly rodents chasing them through space? Tony had washed his hands of the whole affair - there wasn't much diplomacy to be seen, and so he had no problem griping about the lack of tact in their approach. Certainly they wouldn't have been on the run from pirates if Tony had been given a chance to speak a few sentences.

Well, they probably still would be on the run. The Ulnar were a violent race, and pirates were no exception. Smooth talking likely would have done very little in the long run, but Tony wasn't one to admit that to anyone.

There was little Tony could do as they hurtled through space and prepared for an imminent attack. As the rest of the crew kept careful watch and worked at their posts, he found himself becoming more of a nuisance than he was comfortable with. And that was saying a lot, because Antonius often didn't acknowledge how much of a pain he could be.

And so after making his rounds, he finally retreated to his cabin. The room had very few personal effects except for the countless books on various cultures and languages of the galaxy. Tony had a few books he had purchased for his own pleasure, but he had made quite a point about not putting too much thought into decorating. He only planned to be on the ship until the Committee called him back.

What a damn romantic.

Even though they had been told to get some sleep, Tony had settled into the seat at his desk and flipped through one of the books he had pulled. The desk was more littered with belongings. A holographic picture frame sat in the corner, purposely in his line of sight despite the high stacks of books. It played footage of a Satasi woman and a young Satasi child chasing each other around a playground before the child threw herself in the arms of Antonius. The woman soon caught up with the young Satasi and also embraced Tony. The three of them smiled at each other and the footage slowed for a moment as the small family basked in each other's presence.

He stared at the hologram for a moment until it looped and then he returned to his work, reading about Ulnarian customs. At least he could attempt to reason with them before they ultimately poisoned him. But the sudden announcement over his comm from their captain startled him back into reality.

"Fuck..." he couldn't help but groan, shoving his chair out from the desk. Tony tapped his comm. "On it, Captain." Antonius grabbed his holster-belt and fastened it to his waist before setting off down the hall to the turrets. He drew his pistol as he moved down to the elevator.

It didn't take long before he finally arrived at the turrets and settled into the set. Tony grabbed the controls and prepared to fire at the ship once they were in position. But then Yasaliah's voice rang out over the comms. If he had been a stronger or more capable man, he might have run towards her and ensured her safety.

Instead, he put one finger to his comm as he started to fire at the other ship. "Anyone able to get to Yasaliah? I can't lose this shot." He eyed up one of the other ship's turrets and sent a few shots at them, hopefully disabling the other ship from returning fire. He then proceeded to aim at what he could only assume were weak points in the ship as he had been trained before boarding the Monroe. His shots ended up a bit more scattered than he wanted due to a mixture of nerves and lack of training, but he slowly began to get the hang of it, firing relentlessly at the opposing ship.